"Mr Fraser leading the counter attack in defence of his government's economic policies - " [Malcolm Fraser, Ian Sinclair, Phillip Lynch, Doug Anthony, Billy Snedden] [picture] /

Title devised by cataloguer.; Published in the Canberra Times on 21 February 1982.; Part of the Pryor collection of cartoons and drawings. The Sunday Panel examines a week when Parliament descends into chaos when Opposition front-bencher Bob Hawke calls Prime Mininister Malcolm Fraser a liar over the latter's imputations about Victorian Opposition Leader John Cain (there is a Victorian State election in the offing), and in the following mayhem, the Speaker Sir Billie Snedden declines to recognise a motion to suspend Hawke from the House. Later, Snedden, who is a strong supporter of Fraser's rival for leadership Andrew Peacock, is visited in his chambers by a couple of Fraser 'heavies' (principally Ian Sinclair) to 'persuade' him to proceed with the suspension motion. To complicate things for Fraser, at their anuual conference on Friday, the State Premiers are angered over the Federal Government's decision to defer the consideration of a housing interest subsidy, telling the States to raise their own funds.--Information provided by Geoff Pryor